My Bible Stuff...

The Book of James 1

2006-04-20T04:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, back to the more general bible study. I mean, I love topical study too, but there is something about day to day study that I enjoy writing on.

1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:

Greetings.

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

There is a lot here I could comment on, and they all are elsewhere in the bible. Here is the one thing that I feel this is saying to me. God doesn't need to reproach us, he is more than willing to meet the needs we have. If you lack, wisdom in this case, ask of God; but how can you get anything from God if you don't trust Him. Set your heart on God, as the anchor of your life. If you can't trust God to do what He says then whenever someone says something against God, scripture, or Christianity in general, your heart will wonder if you are right. "Lord I hope this works," doesn't really get you anywhere. It is like you are saying, "God, prove yourself to me." He did, He gave His Son.
Joel

The Legacy of Peter

2006-04-17T04:29:00.000-07:00

Luke 22:31 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

We all know that Peter was a polar personality. Failure seemed to egg him on to try something else. He blurted things out, usually to his own embarrassment, and acted before he thought about it. Someone like this, with the Holy Spirit, would be tough for Satan to deal with. So, here is Satan, knowing tht Peter would deny Christ (Christ had said so) asked to "sift" Peter. I would think that "sift" meant to have him killed as being party to Christ.
Now I have been talking alot on Legalism in the church. Think about it, how would the church you go to react to this? One of the Decon Board, or pastoral staff publically denies association with Jesus on three seperate occasions in one day. Jesus had to react to this, but His reaction is not "Peter, you are not worthy of the ministry I wish to give you, you who has no faith! Begone from me!" Not even close. Jesus comes out with this wierd comment, "Peter, 'when you have returned to me, strengthen your brethern.'" Basically, "I know you are going to reject me, and that your faith will be shaken to its core. I sympathize with you, I understand how tough it will be. It is a temporary condition that will pass for you. When it does pass, and you remember your love for me, return to the other disciples and strengthen thier faith with your encouragement." (JPV Joel Paraphrase Version)

Matthew 26:69 Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”
70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.”
71 And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!”
73 And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.”
74 Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!”
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.

Let's remember that this was not 20th century America, but 1st century Israel. A slave girl had no stature at all, Peter was a free man, just short of Royalty. He had the right to beat a slave girl for questioning his word. 1st person, slave girl... did he backhand her, tell her her place and to shut up! No, he denied what she said and got out of there. Then, another girl saw him, another with no status by which to even speak in the temple, or question a man on the street. Peter ran from her too. Then some of the men from the crowd came to him and said, "We can tell by how you talk that you have been in His presence." Peter starting cussing, as only a sailor truly can (well, marines too) and agrily stating he never knew Christ. (JPV) It was then the Holy Spirit called him to rememberance of the words Jesus spoke. (Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who weep, blessed are the meek) Peter became broke before God, and stronger because of it.

Luke 26:13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. 17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?” 18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” 19 And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. 22 Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23 When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.”

You know, it didn't matter how many times Jesus told the disciples that He was the Christ, nor did it matter how many times he told them he would have to suffer and die, and be raised on the tird day, they never got it. They were taught that the messiah would come to establish his kingdom on earth, the kingdom of Israel, forever. The statement made, "the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel." meant that they saw the fact that Jesus had died as proof that He was not the Christ, the Messiah.
So here we have it, Peter, who was so afraid after the crucifixion that he denied his Lord several times, went into hiding with the other disciples, and believed the man that he had followed for years now had fooled him and was, maybe a prophet, and Peter called him one, but definately not the Christ. He and the other disciples holed up in the upper room waiting because Jesus, now risen asked them too. Here is where the Holy Spirit got ahold of Peter, and where Peter, aided by the total lack of fear that comes from the Spirit dwelling in you, became the rock of the church.

Acts 1:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

Peter stood before the very men who heard him deny Christ two months earlier. The very pharisees that put Jesus upon the cross and preached like a man who was learned. People were amazed by the words he spoke, and 3000 men were added to the church. What a transformation! And this, not by outside forces, but by the Spirit, which is the only force that CAN change man, living on the inside!

Paul wrote Peter's legacy for all of us to see:
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

The will of God for your life is not a bunch of rules, or a bunch of laws that try to change you from without. It is not you, putting out tons of effort, attempting to hold to perfection. You cannot do it! "And do not be conformed" Don't be pressed from without into a shape you can't bend into. Don't let others place you into the cookie cutter, to make you look like a Christian, or place you under a yoke of bondage to a sat of rules that they themselves would never even be able to hold to. "but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" Be like Peter, be broken before God, comforted in the knowledge that you can't do what is required of you.
2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
It is this reliance upon Christ that makes us strong, and the Holy Spirit that gives us the guidance to live the Christian life. No rules of man can ever make us righteous, no do's and don'ts that will bring us into line. We can't be sanctified by pressure from without, any more than our actions can save us in the first place. Works come out of a love for Christ, and the words you speak out of the fullness of your heart. So seek Christ first, ask and pray, and the changes will happen from the inside out!

That is what Peter left us, his legacy, his example of Christ's grace in his life.
Joel

What happened on the cross, anyway?

2006-04-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

This is not a new idea, but maybe one that you have not considered. I am going to enumerate this in order to put it in it's proper order, and to keep myself straight.

God has tried three ways to reach out to men.
#1) He made man good.
#1A)God walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve.
Genesis 3:8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
#1B)Sin seperates us from our God.
Colosians 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
#1C)Through Adam, Sin entered the world.
1 Corinthians 15:21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, Adam, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man, Christ.
#2)So God moved to the second plan, the law.
#2A)But there no redemption in the law.
Galatians 3:11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith."
#2B)The law is to show us that we are guilty!
Romans 7:7 What shall we say then? [Is] the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
#2C)And the law shows us slave to the nature that Adam left us.
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.
#3)So God moved to what he had intended from the start, that we would choose to follow Him, through His gift Jesus Christ.

Basically my summation is this:
Adam sinned, and spiritually we all died.
Sin was transmitted from father to son.
Jesus, because his father is God, did not have the sin nature that plagues us all.
He died without sin.
When we die, God can look at us and say that our sin made that death inevitable.
When Jesus died, there was no basis for His death, God could not say to Him that He deserved death. He unjustly recieved the punishment that He was the only human EVER to not deserve!
Since His death was not just, and God, who is just in every way, had no way to prosecute this injustice, He placed the death of Jesus as our door to life. Imputing us just who were unjust due to the punishment of the just in injustice.
Joel

Where the war for our souls was fought, the Mount of Olives!

2006-04-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

During this time of year we all look to what Jesus did on the cross. There is where His blood was laid out for sin, and His life was given for ours. And there is alot to that that I will touch on tomorrow. I won't say they are fresh insites (I know Ron has heard them, but come to think of it, Ron has heard of most of the things I think. Probably thinks I am crazy by now, but he loves me anyway!) but they are a little different.

Luke 22:38The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords."
"That is enough," he replied.
39Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." 41He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." 43An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

Here it is, where the war for our souls was fought. Jesus' flesh, crying out to be spared the troubles to come, sweating blood because of the anguish. It is recorded that this does happen when someone is under extreme duress. Let's face it, in Luke 9, Jesus is told what He was to do, and here the full pressure of it was coming down. It was here, at the Mount of Olives that the decision had to be made. Judas would not come until Jesus had made up his mind to follow through, or to let us die in our sins, which is what we all deserve. Once Jesus submitted to God, (and that was something He did not want to do!) the war was over. There is nothing more that Satan can do to Jesus, He had already chosen death, and the prize that that would give him.

Sermon on the Mount 2

2006-04-13T05:11:00.000-07:00

Matthew 5:21"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
27"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'[e] 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
31"It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' 32But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.
38"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'[g] 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

Jesus continues to focus on what is important. Sure, the law says an eye for an eye, but is that the right issue, obeying the law? 1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams. Or is the right issue the heart? Can you look at a woman, undress her with your eyes, dream of her nakedness with you, and not sin? You didn't commit adultery! Can you get angry at your brother, grow to hate him, think he is worthy of judgement by God, and not sin? You haven't committed murder!
Paul said it a different way, but with the same effect:
Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
You know, I could go through and show you how Jesus, in everything he said, pointed back to the condition of mankinds' hearts. The sermon on the mount shows us how inadequate we are, how much we need to come to God broken, asking Him to have mercy on us, and be our sustenance and strength.

Matthew 7:9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
We need to realize that we can't do it on our own. We need to ask God, who gives good gifts, for what we need.
Matthew 7:24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
What are we to practice? the rules! Should we attempt to try to keep every commandment that Jesus has given us. Yes, but don't try to do this in yourself, because you will never be good enough to obey the letter of the law! Nor can you do it all the time! Put these in practice:
Be broken before God, mourning your condition as a sinner, and relying fully on His strength and provision. Seek Jesus out, for He is the only one who is righteous, make Him as neccessary as food and water. Let Him work in you to make you merciful, pure and a lover of peace; and if any man hates you because you are becoming like Him, remember, they strung Him up for it.

In Christ,
Joel

Holiness in the Church 3: the sermon on the mount

2006-04-12T20:59:00.000-07:00

If you want to read it, it is Matthew 5 to 7, I am going to highlight, or this will be a very long post.

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jesus starts preaaching to the masses with blessed are the poor in spirit.
Greek is ptochos; which is
1) reduced to beggary, begging, asking alms
2) destitute of wealth, influence, position, honour
a) lowly, afflicted, destitute of the Christian virtues and eternal riches
b) helpless, powerless to accomplish an end
c) poor, needy

Basically, blessed is a person who has come to the point where they are begging God for spiritual things; who have come to the ends of themselves and found out that they are lacking.

The Meek: I found this entry after meek:
Meekness toward God is that disposition of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting. In the OT, the meek are those wholly relying on God rather than their own strength to defend them against injustice.

All of the things that Jesus calls Blessed are conditions of the heart. Everything else said in the sermon points back to these. In Mat 5:10-12 He says that you are blessed when people hate you because your heart is in the condition he pointed out "for My sake".

In Mt 5:13-16 He points out that "you" are salt and light. Why does He say that? Because your life is an outpouring of a blessed state of heart!
Matthew 5:20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Why would Jesus go here? Well, because the Pharisees preached the word but didn't stand to it. (see previous post) They did, and saw to it that they were praised by men for it. They preached, but didn't have a heart that realized the source of thier preaching. They weren't reliant upon God, nor did they have a broken spirit.
Luke 18:10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’
They felt they were sufficient, they were not. This is going to need to be done in a series of posts, so more tomorrow.

Joel

2006-04-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Holiness in the church 2

2006-04-11T05:20:00.000-07:00

Hebrews11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
1 Peter 5:1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

OK, so how is it that the elders obtained good testimony... Faith.
It is a sad thing when a man becomes a pastor to cover over his own shortcomings, but it happens. These men fail to shepherd under the authority of God, but under the authority of the office they hold, using that office to the damage of thier flock. Beware of this, Jesus refers to the as ravenous wolves!

Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

You can tell them by thier fruit. They use up the lives of people devouring them in the name of God. If you are in a church that does this, the church may try to cover these things up, or say that you cannot have a proper relationship God without that church. It is a sure sign that you are in a church that is practicing wolves. I exhort you to leave that situation, it is not Godly.

More to come,
Joel

Re: Holiness in the church

2006-04-10T05:08:00.000-07:00

I am thinking it is time to at least partially address this issue. It seems more and more that I am coming accross those that wish to place a bunch of rules in front of Christ. These rules include:
What you can wear.
What you can listen to.
Whether or not you should dance.
How much you should give.
How much of your time is considered proper service.
How you should talk.
What version of the bible you should read.
Whether or not you should watch certain TV and movies.
Whether or not you should work at all on Saturday or Sunday. (depends on the church)
What you should drink. (A church I teach at says no caffinated beverages if you are a member, but sells Dr Pepper and Mountain Dew lol)
What you should eat. (no pork, and some sea food etc...)
This is not meant to b3e comprehensive, just to give you an idea. I am also not trying to ridicule anyone's beliefs. For instance I will not drink any alchoholic beverages at all, but I won't say anything to you if you had a beer while I am at your house. That is between you and God, and is probably fine for you to do as long as you aren't getting drunk.
The battle cry will ring out, "But what about standard's in the church." I will answer that one too.
Matthew 23:

1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2"The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures. 3So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don't follow their example. For they don't practice what they teach. 4They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden."
23"How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law--justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things. 24Blind guides! You strain your water so you won't accidentally swallow a gnat; then you swallow a camel!" New Living Translation
Now, it would be helpful to print the entire verse to this point but for the sake of space I am going to print just this for now. Jesus was constantly battling the Pharisees because they lived like a clean but empty cup. They were all about thier robes(Mt 23:5), and what people called them(Mt 23:7), and where they prayed(Mt 6:5), and where they sat at the table(Mt 23:6). They even strained thier wine and water through thier teeth so that they might not swallow a gnat, for gnat's are unclean. But they missed the point completely, for the law was more about Justice, Mercy, and Faith. Without these, church becomes a burden that noone can endure.
Matthew 7:1"Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. 2For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged. 3And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own?New Living Version
James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.”Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.New King James Version
Basically, watch what you judge others for. If you think dancing is wrong, bu all means, do not dance, but since the bible says nothing about dancing being wrong, do not apply that as sin to someone else. especially if you, for some reason, think that your rules make you "Godlier" than everyone else. For you have crossed the line into being a Pharisee at that point.

More to come,
Joel

Sunday Morning with my pastor!

2006-04-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

I must say I love my pastor, he always seems to rub me the right ways. I have been reading a book on abuse in the church, and I must say it is a good book. I am beginning to understand how, I hope, to keep myself from becoming that way once I am a pastor. God is good anyway!
My pastor's sermon this morning talked about something that would be an abuse in the church, if he continued the way he started, but he didn't. For the children of Israel to speak to God, they had to wash themselves, and clean up thier act, because God is so holy, His holiness would have destroyed the Israelites. Even cleaned up, they could not approach God, only Moses could! (see exodus 8) When the High Priest, later on, was to go into the Holy of Holies, he had to have special sacrifices done for him, then step behind a heavy vail. Getting an audience with Almighty God was an event!
Now if Pastor Tim had stopped at this point, and started telling us how we had to be so clean to speak to God, our image of what God wants would have been damaged! Fortunately, he did for a moment. I say fortunately because, I think God did that to see if I had a trust issue, and so He could show me that Pastor Tim can be trusted. It was a good object lesson, since it is easy to read a book like the one I am reading, and callously apply it unfairly to everyone.
Pastor Tim went on to rejoice in how Jesus brings us into the throne room of God not based on our goodness, but His. It is the only way, not as servants, but as family. He even confessed to once swearing at God over a ministry issue (earlier in his ministry) and how God ministered back to him in peace love and understanding. As if God could not take us being angry at Him, I am glad he said that. I am not saying that cussin' God out is right (neither was he) but that God wants us to bring our brokeness and lack of understanding and lay it at His throne, and unburden ourselves.

I will end this post by saying this. It is not your righteousness that was sufficient in the first place, and it never will be. It is our brokeness, our saying to God that we cannot do it without Him, that brings right relationship. "Blessed are the poor in spirit", may I never be sufficient unto myself, if I get like that, someone bat me upside the head, because only God is sufficient. He made a way so we can talk to Him! Come in your weakness, humbly before the throne of God, and lay your burdens at His feet. Come Boldly!!! for it is Christ's righteousness, given to you that makes you sufficient to enter into His throne room. You are always welcome before God!!!

Joel

Sin and the church

2006-04-02T05:47:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

I was recently doing some thinking on what SHOULD happen if there is someone who is sinning in the church. Actually the chances of someone struggling with a habitual sin in the church are about the same as finding someone with an illness at a hospital. OK, lets say Fred Flintstoan, longtime member of the First Self-Righteous Church, has a drinking problem. He has been seen going into several bars, and now, he got a DWI last night! How do we handle this?

Well, in the Luthern Church I grew up in, we would probably have shot him and thrown him out the front door. Which of course is a lot like shooting someone who went to the hospital because they were sick. Churches are supposed to be safe places where we "Bear each other's burden's" (Gal 6:2). So, talk to him about it, with a loving attitude. He is already embarrassed, and feeling guilt and shame. Just remember, you are just as guilty as he is (James 2:10), and he needs help getting himself back on track.

Have you ever noticed that there are way more women in churches than men? Writing from a man's perspective, I can explain, at least in part, why. Men know htat they have screwed up before God, but most of us already have a distorted view of God. We see him as an angry God who has his finger on the "smite key" of his holy computer, just waiting for us to screw up. The few times we have admitted it to someone in the church, they have proven us correct! I am glad that I have not had this problem in my church. It is bad enough when you have fallen into some sort of sin, it is worse when the people that are supposed to be able to help you bring you more guilt and shame you.

Luke 6:36You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. 37"Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. Stop criticizing others, or it will all come back on you. If you forgive others, you will be forgiven. 38If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving--large or small--it will be used to measure what is given back to you.

There is a rule of give and take in play here, that some of the ones carrying the shotguns should look at.

Galatians 6:7Don't be misled. Remember that you can't ignore God and get away with it. You will always reap what you sow!

You cannot get away with frying someone for a sin without it coming back onto you. Everyone should remember that. Jesus says to have mercy first! This isn't a hard thing to grasp, if someone comes to a church and repents of their sin, there should be love and acceptance, and help with putting the sin into the permanent past. Love, support, encourage and exhort, and there will be mercy and healing.

Joel

"Inventing Evil" from Romans 1

2006-03-30T19:11:00.000-08:00

You know, I never really looked at that particular comment until yesterday at a bible study. God gives people over to their desires, and thier minds become debased. They become "inventors of evil", basically, they think up evil things. I mean, who would think up Meth, it's a laundry list of hazardous chemicals! But there it is, and someone invented it, and it ruins lives.

I have to praise God and give him glory that I have somehow been spared knowing what doing drugs is. Like everyone, though, I have my predeliction to sin. We all do, we have some bent that Satan uses to pry his way into our lives. And GOD says that he gives us over to our desires, and to the evil that we dream up, except when we learn to actively love Jesus! I was talking with a friend this morning and that came up. I think we spend too much time on the "Act" f being saved instead of the "Action" of living saved.

With that thought, I exhort everyone who calls upon the name of Jesus to live with Him. Build a relationship with Him, and let Him be the target of your life, the finish line that you are running for. How do we get away from a depraved and debased mind? By the renewal of our mind through Jesus! He adopted us, and gave the ability to cry, "Daddy"! So talk to Him, and build your relationship with Him, and everything else will fall into place. Not that your life will be perfect or easy, but He will be there with you and bring you through.

Well, enough rambling, more tomorrow!

Joel

The path to Heaven

2006-03-19T11:42:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

You know, thinking of God and all, I have this point.

Most people have seen those wonderful pictures out of the gulf war of a Patriot missle nailing a SCUD and the following explosion. I personally like explosions, but I digress. The first thing I have noticed; the Patriot is never on target until it reaches it's end. The second thing I noticed is that it constantly corrects itself by keep it's "eye" fixed upon it's target. Never for a second is it's focus on anything else.

Also, I have, in one of my jobs, been trained in finding counterfeit monies. It is simple, study the real thing until you know it inside and out. The counterfeit will show itself easily when you know what the real ones are.

There is a practical application to this. First, the path to heaven is not in being perfect., but in not losing sight of your savior. You are not lost if you sin, though you should try not to, but when you take your eyes off of your target (Jesus) and put them on your sin, you no longer have any direction. Becoming Christlike is not to be found in not sinning, but in not breaking your relationship with Him. This is why He put such an emphasis on love over holiness, because obedience to the law cannot get you to heaven, only show you how impossible it is to get there. "He who has broken one of the commandments is guilty off all of them" "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Only the love of our God is capable of salvation (John 3:16), only our relationship with Him, and our focus on Him can keep us on the right track.

The second point is this. The majority of converts to the Mormon religion are Baptists. Simply put, the church, not just Baptists, but a majority of the churches in America have done a woeful job of teaching the scriptures. This means you will have to learn it on your own. There is no reason that the Mormons should know more about our scriptures than we do, and convert people. Another poll shows the a majority of Evangelical teenagers do not believe that there is absolute truth. There is no reason that eastern philosophies should enter our lives, like, "there is no truth" while we have the real truth.

Study to show yourselves approved!

Joel